


If I had A Million Pounds

by Liadt



Category: Public Eye (TV)
Genre: F/M, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-06
Updated: 2015-01-06
Packaged: 2018-03-01 19:10:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2784425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liadt/pseuds/Liadt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Faint heart never won fair lady.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If I had A Million Pounds

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lost_spook](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lost_spook/gifts).



Frank Marker walked down the seafront, with a scrap of notepaper clutched tightly in his hand. His eyes roamed over the long row of terraces, searching for the right house. 

“Oi! Watch it old man,” said a youth.

Frank had bumped into him, although with his heavy fringe and headphones clamped over his ears, the boy wasn’t paying attention to where he was going either.

Funny how the things you think will never come back into fashion do, thought Frank, taking in the youth’s ridiculously wide flares, as he pulled his raincoat tightly around himself. The wind was getting more than bracing.

Frank found the guesthouse he was searching for. He was standing opposite the house, looking from the piece of paper to the house’s front door and back again. Faint heart never won fair lady, but then Frank didn’t have asbestos lined armour to protect him from the dragon of crushed hopes. Finally, he crossed the road, went up the house’s steps and rung the doorbell.

A middle-aged woman opened the front door. “I’m sorry, but we don’t have any vacancies.”

“It’s me, Frank, Frank Marker, Helen.” She was older, yes, but still lovely.

Helen Mortimer peered at him. “Frank! I didn’t recognise you with the beard. What are you doing here? You’re not in any trouble are you?”

“No, I thought I’d come and see you. I ran into Percy a while ago and he gave me your new address.”

Helen furrowed her brow. “I haven’t seen Percy in years.”

“He knows a friend of a friend.”

“Oh.”

“The new place looks very grand. Is it due to any exciting developments in your life?” asked Frank.

“Hmm. I suppose you’re angling to see if I’m single or not with a question like that,” said Helen, suspiciously.

“Oh no!” How Helen had taken Frank’s question, had upset him. “Um, yes, Percy said he always had hopes for us two. He rightly assumed I was still unattached - he said something like, ‘you look like you’re still on eight pounds a day.’ He thought he’d heard you were on your own now.”

“Percy’s right on both counts. I can see the mackintoshes haven’t improved,” said Helen, wryly.

“It gives me adequate protection from the rain, but not from Percy’s chat. I’ve always thought of you and hoped you were all right, in between kicking myself.”

“And now you’ve come here expecting the romantic ending?”

Frank rubbed the back of his head with his hand. “I’ve not come here assuming anything. I know it ended badly, well; it never really got going did it? I’m not good with people who are pleased to have me around. I tend to retreat in confusion and push them away. The opposite reaction is what I usually receive. I’d settle for meeting for the odd pot of tea, if you can cope with a cracked mug with a handle missing.”

“Is that a metaphor?” Helen gave a gentle smile. “In any case, I’d rather have an honest, serviceable, chipped mug than a useless tea cup, worth a million pounds, that impresses the neighbours.”

“That’s a pity. I’ve tickets to see the Faberge exhibition in the Pavilion.”

“Did they make crockery?” asked Helen.

“They might have - they’ve got to have something to put the eggs in.” Frank rummaged through his pockets. “I did have the tickets on me.”

Helen shook her head. “Come in, you might be able to find them in the light.”

****

Frank and Helen did make it to the exhibition, after a fashion and it was all they hoped it would be. There were gold eggs and fine enamelling, but they found something more precious than jewels there…

****

Then they lived happily ever after… eventually … sort of… if you ignored the time the basement was flooded or when a fraudulent Pools winner tried to buy the B&B. Then there was the time the ex-wife of Helen’s son smashed a window, with a brick and the particularly obnoxious boarder who had trouble with accepting that Helen let unmarried couples stay. The Mac went up in flames too, but that might have been deliberate on the part of Helen.


End file.
